The head of the Iraqi list, a parliamentary bloc, has criticized the government’s decision to involve the army in the anti-government protest in Hawija, near Kirkuk.

Suleiman al-Gamili continued by saying the incident placed the military in a state confrontation with Iraq’s people.

Dozens of people were killed and injured when Iraqi security forces stormed a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp in Hawija on Tuesday.

Gamili told Al Arabiya that all that was required was the arrests of two, three or even ten people, but instead, hundreds were killed and injured.

He added that what happened in Hawija has engaged the country in a heated debate and as a result, the “army has become the enemy in the eyes of the Iraqi people.”

Meanwhile, Abdul Ghafour al-Samarraie, head of Iraq’s Sunni Religious Endowment, held a joint press conference with head of Iraq’s Shiite Endowment, Sayyed Saleh al-Heidari. Both called for putting an end to strife between Sunnis and Shiites in the country, particularly following Tuesday’s events.

Violence erupts in Iraq's Kirkuk

Samarraie and Heidari also called on Iraqi leaders to attend a meeting in a mosque on Friday, hosted by the Sunni and Shiite Endowment, in order to discuss the country’s political crises.

In other news, armed men seized control of the Suleiman Beik area which lies on the road between Baghdad and Kurdistan, following clashes with the Iraqi army, officials said.

The armed men kicked out security forces from the area and seized army equipment, officials also said, adding that the strategic road between Baghdad and Kurdistan is now closed as a result.

At least 110 people have been killed in Iraq since clashes broke out on Tuesday between security forces and gunmen following the raid on the Hawija camp.